Great Expectations

So, we’re about two months out from THE FAR EMPTY’S release. The publicity wheel is starting to turn, and we’re really at the point of no return. This book is finally is going to be out in the world.

Some of my friends, jokers that they are, have asked me if THE FAR EMPTY is actually any good. They’ve made it abundantly clear they don’t want to waste their time reading a “bad” book. They’re being funny (and trust me, they have all the time in the world), but the question has some truth and merit: is it any good? By what criteria, what measurement? Honestly, I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s a book I’m tremendously proud of it, and it’s the best book I could write at the time. In the end, that’s all any novel is: a snapshot of the writer’s life, a time capsule full of words and ideas, and by now THE FAR EMPTY is a capsule I sealed up over two year years ago. The truth is, if I were to write it now, it might be a very different book. I also think it’s difficult, and probably futile, for any writer to really defend or explain all their choices and the stories they tell, but there are some observations I can make about it with the benefit of some hindsight.

It’s my first “real” book, and right or wrong, I swung for the fences with it.

It’s 100% the story I wanted to tell, the way I wanted to tell it; even after the tremendously helpful work of my editors. They didn’t alter or push for any changes I wasn’t completely on board with, and all of their observations only tightened and strengthened my original story.

The book is challenging. There’s graphic language, unpleasant characters, and brutal violence. It’s a slow burn, far more internal more than external (and I think the opposite is true for the sequel…but that’s another book, another time, another place). I wanted to write a crime story that wasn’t just about a crime; a genre novel with some literary aspirations. I wanted a mythic Western without horses. I wanted to portray some interesting and strong female characters. And I wanted to explore the relationship between a father and his alienated, lonely son.

So that’s the book I wrote. And pretty soon, I guess we will have some objective criteria on that very subjective good/bad question – we’ll have some sales data, we’ll have a few reviews. But even if it doesn’t sell all that well, and even if the reviews are a mixed bag, I’m not sure I’ll ever believe the book is “bad,” whatever that means. A recent, early critique took me to task for trying to be too “epic,” and actually I’m fine with that…I mean, after all, who wants to be average? I’d rather fail spectacularly than settle for timid. But when all is said and done, after all the books are sold and the reviews are filed away, THE FAR EMPTY is mine — it’s me — and even if I’m only an audience of one, I’m pretty damn happy with the company…